Dutch Central Bank Slaps $3.1 Mln Fine on Crypto.com for Registration Violation

Crypto.com has faced another roadblock in the Netherlands with a heavy fine levied on it. According to a report by Reuters, the virtual asset exchange has been fined $3.1 million by the country’s central bank.

Crypto.com Faces Allegation of Non-Compliance

Reuters highlights that the virtual asset exchange Crypto.com was fined 2.85 million euros ($3.11 million) by the Dutch central bank on Wednesday for providing its services in the country without the required registration. In the Netherlands, companies that want to offer cryptocurrency services have to register with the Central Bank (DNB). These legislations are designed to prevent money laundering and the funding of terrorist groups.

Due to Crypto.com’s huge client base in the Netherlands and its ability to maintain a competitive edge by forgoing central bank supervisory fees and other compliance costs, the DNB decided that it had to impose reasonably hefty penalties on the company. The decision to issue the penalties was not previously made public by the central bank, which did so in October.

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Crypto Firm’s Issues with Netherland Operations

The Netherlands has always been a difficult turf for crypto companies to operate in. In an expansion process crypto exchanges and firms usually target Europe as a potential customer base. In the same format, Crypto.com had also received registration authorization in Spain. The cryptocurrency exchange was awarded a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license by the Bank of Spain, which allowed it to provide its products in the country. However, it seems like the Netherlands has a little tedious market to operate in. A good example of this is Binance having trouble registering in the Dutch nation. Additionally, Binance declared its departure from the Netherlands after the Dutch authority refused to grant it a VASP license.

The future trajectory of how Crypto.com progresses with its operations in the Netherlands will now be under strict watch by market participants.

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